


Just Relax

by RBCQ



Category: RuPaul's Drag Race RPF
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-01
Updated: 2016-07-23
Packaged: 2018-07-19 12:48:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,722
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7362076
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RBCQ/pseuds/RBCQ
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There really was no elegant way to tell Carmen to fuck off without either sounding like he <i>did</i> have something to hide (which would only get her going on the whole you-two-are-absolutely-fucking-and-don't-you-dare-say-you-aren't shtick twice as much) or without being actually nasty, which he definitely wasn't willing to be, not even when her nagging got a little annoying.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Sutan sighed and settled into his chair, closing his eyes. The late afternoon sun was warm on his skin, and finally being able to relax after weeks without a single day off was heavenly. He could hear the city buzzing below him, but on the balcony of his hotel room, he could care less for the hustle and bustle of the world at that moment.

 

"Hey, Sutan?"

 

He jolted, startled by the sudden disruption of his peace. Sitting up and pushing his sunglasses to the top of his head, he looked at Karl, squinting back the sun.

 

"Yeah?"

 

"Have you seen my swimming trunks? I can't find them."

 

Sutan sighed, running a hand through his loose hair. He propped himself up on an elbow and looked at the other man.

 

"The horrible yellow ones? Dunno how you misplaced them."

 

Karl rolled his eyes.

 

"Seriously? They're cute!"

 

"They're covered in _pineapples_ , for christ's sake, and they look like a kid's size extra-extra-extra-extra large."

 

"Okay, that's a low blow. They were in the men's department, thank you very much!"

 

Sutan couldn't help but laugh at that. He stood up, stretching and sighing.

 

"Jesus, you're getting old. Sore joints?"

 

Karl was teasing him, a playful grin on his face.

 

"Oh, fuck you. I'm not _that_ old!"

 

"Sure thing, grandpa."

 

Karl bounced back inside, and Sutan couldn't help but smile at his perkiness. He followed, albeit a bit less energetically, and sat down on the edge of his bed.

 

"Have you checked your suitcase?"

 

"I'm not an idiot, give me _some_ credit!"

 

"Mhm. Drawers?"

 

"Did you seriously unpack already? We just got here!"

 

"I don't have to do it later."

 

Karl huffed, squatting to open the bottom drawer. He pointedly looked at Sutan as he pulled it out slowly, showing it was empty, then shoved it back in and pulled out the next, raising his eyebrows at the silver-haired man. 

 

"Alright, I get it, jesus. Did you go swimming last night?"

 

"After getting here at two in the morning?"

 

"Okay, so they're not hanging up. Where else could they be?"

 

"If I _knew_ , I'd be in the pool by now. Will you please help me?"

 

He pouted at Sutan, giving him puppy eyes. The only response that got was an eyeroll.

 

"Your disorganization isn't my problem, 'Nila."

 

The nickname had stuck around even when Karl wasn't in drag, and the affection behind it made him smile briefly before he turned and mock-stomped back to his suitcase and melodramatically unzipped it with a flourish. Sutan's phone buzzed, lighting up on the bedside table next to him, and he reached for it for the first time that day. After their flight had been delayed several times, the two had arrived at an ungodly hour of the morning, checked into their room, and had hardly made it to their beds before falling asleep fully clothed. Sutan had woken up several hours ago, but he had no interest in checking his phone. He had unpacked, gone to get coffee and breakfast, then had relaxed out on the balcony for an hour or so before Karl had roused him.

 

"They're not in here, I swear!"

 

Sutan glanced up, raising his eyebrows.

 

"Maybe if you tried unpacking and folding everything you'd find them."

 

Karl groaned, picking up his suitcase and unceremoniously dumping it out on his bed. Sutan looked back down at his phone, opening his messages and, subsequently, the Heathers group chat. With a soft sigh, ignoring how old it made him feel, he reached for his glasses on the bedside table and slid them on. There was nearly a hundred messages waiting for him, as usual, but he ignored all but the last few.

 

_CARMEN: is it just me or has anyone else noticed karl and sutan have disappeared?_

 

_GABRIEL: girl, you know exactly what they're doing._

 

_CARMEN: hello, earth to loverboys! how are things in bed?_

 

He looked up at Karl, who was busy digging through his pile of clothes.

 

"Didn't you tell Carmen and Gabriel we were going on vacation?"

 

"Um... I thought you did?"

 

Sutan couldn't help but laugh, unplugging his phone and scooting further back on the bed.

 

"So we're halfway across the world and nobody knows?"

 

"Sounds like it, yeah."

 

Karl turned around, grinning.

 

"Are they giving you hell about it?"

 

"Just talking about how we're fucking, like every other time we're gone for five minutes."

 

"Figures."

 

He turned back to his clothes, and Sutan went back to his phone.

 

_SUTAN: why are you two so determined to prove we're fucking?_

 

Carmen's reply was almost instant, like she was attached to her phone by the palm. Which she probably was, all things considered.

 

_CARMEN: so you're saying there's something to prove, then? ;)_

 

_SUTAN: grasping at straws much?_

 

_CARMEN: not a no. guilty!_

 

Sutan couldn't help but roll his eyes. There really was no elegant way to tell Carmen to fuck off without either sounding like he _did_ have something to hide (which would only get her going on the whole you-two-are-absolutely-fucking-and-don't-you-dare-say-you-aren't shtick twice as much) or without being actually nasty, which he definitely wasn't willing to be, not even when her nagging got a little annoying. A few minutes passed, in which he idly watched Karl dig through the small mountain of clothes on the hotel bed, a small smile on his face. Then, his phone buzzed again, and he looked back down.

 

_GABRIEL: carmen you have a gig tonight in LA right?_

 

_CARMEN: yep! is everyone coming?_

 

_GABRIEL: i am, no clue about them._

 

_CARMEN: where are you guys anyways? LA?_

 

_SUTAN: i'm in manila._

 

_CARMEN: still? isn't it rude to text during sex?_

 

He should've seen that response coming. Sutan sighed, rolling his eyes down at his phone.

 

_SUTAN: so funny. the city, not the drag queen._

 

_CARMEN: ooh, struck a nerve!_

 

_CARMEN: is karl with you?_

 

_SUTAN: yeah, we flew out last night. he was supposed to tell you two but he forgot._

 

_CARMEN: soooo... were you in manila in manila?_

 

_SUTAN: how many times do i have to tell you we're not fucking before you believe me?_

 

_CARMEN: i'll believe you when you stop giving each other bedroom eyes whenever you're together!_

 

_SUTAN: we do not!_

 

_GABRIEL: yes you do._

 

_SUTAN: you two are impossible._

 

Karl cheered and Sutan jumped, looking up in time to catch him spinning around and waving a pair of bright yellow, pineapple-patterned swimming trunks like a victory flag.

 

"Found them!"

 

Deciding it would be a better idea not to dig himself deeper into a hole of trying to be reasonable with the other two Heathers, Sutan locked his phone and tossed it to the side, sitting up to look at the younger man, who was grinning at him.

 

"Told you they'd be in there."

 

Karl's smile shifted to a more sheepish one, and Sutan grinned.

 

"They were wrapped up in a shirt!"

 

He glanced down at the clock, then back up at Sutan.

 

"We still have time to swim before dinner, wanna go?"

 

The older man stood up, shrugging.

 

"Sure, why not."

 

"Great! I'll get changed."

 

Before Sutan had the chance to say anything else, Karl was in the bathroom, the door clicking shut and leaving him alone in the hotel room. With a soft sigh, he crossed the room, pulling a drawer open and finding his swimming trunks. Carmen's taunts were sticking to him for some reason, more than usual. _Did_ he look at Karl like that? The two of them were close, there was no doubt about that, but Sutan hadn't ever really thought about him as anything more than his best friend. But - did he? He shook his head, standing up and glancing back at his phone, frowning. Were they making it up just to fuck with him and Karl? No, they wouldn't do that. The Heathers never lied to each other.

 

More importantly, did Karl look at _him_ like that? And how hadn't he noticed? Sutan worried his lower lip between his teeth, brow furrowed. He stood there, lost in thought, and when the bathroom door opened and Karl walked out, humming under his breath, he jumped, startled.

 

"You okay?"

 

Sutan turned, eyes meeting Karl's. For a moment, he felt like a deer in the headlights, then he shook himself out of it and smiled.

 

"Yeah, fine. Thinking."

 

Karl walked over to him, cocking his head and looking at him questioningly.

 

"About?"

 

He lifted a shoulder in a half-shrug.

 

"Nothing, really. Just thinking. "

 

"C'mon, I know that look. What's up? Miss the spotlight?"

 

Karl's tone was joking, and his grin lit up his whole face. It was contagious - Sutan felt a smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

 

"It's weird, relaxing after so long. You know, after the show and then everything being non-stop for so long, it's weird to just- to be Sutan again."

 

It sounded like an excuse, a pathetic coverup for what he had really been thinking, but Karl seemed to buy it. His face softened and he stepped closer, reaching out to touch Sutan's arm.

 

"I know. It's weird to be Karl, too. Especially _in_ Manila."

 

Sutan's smile grew. He reached out and mussed Karl's hair, fingers running through his blonde streak that Sutan loved so much.

 

"You'll always be my favorite 'Nila."

 

Karl grinned at him. Suddenly, Sutan knew exactly what Carmen meant. There was a warmth in the way that the two of them looked at each other that wasn't there when they looked at everybody else, even the other two Heathers. Swallowing against a sudden lump in his throat, Sutan's voice cracked a little when he spoke.

 

"So, swimming? I can meet you down at the pool in a minute."

 

Karl paused for a moment, looking at him oddly. Sutan just smiled and touched his arm, trying to cover up the voice crack.

 

"I still have to change. I'll be down soon, okay?"

 

"...Yeah. See you there."

 

He sounded unsure, almost suspicious, but his grin quickly returned, his tone jumping back to where it was before.

 

"Don't take too long, grandpa!"

 

With that, he grabbed his towel off his bed and bounced out the door. As it swung shut, Sutan could hear him humming again. The second the latch clicked, he sat down on the edge of his bed again, his head in his hands.

 

"Shit..."

 

Why hadn't he noticed this before? Why were Carmen's comments only _now_ getting to him, after several months of enduring them? That was it, they were just getting to him. Of course. There was nothing between him and Karl, nothing more than there ever had been. Sutan shook his head and stood up, quickly changing and finding his towel. He left his phone sitting on the bed, grabbed his key card from the table, and left the room, heading for the pool.

 

Sutan decided not to think about Carmen's comments - or the implications behind them, if they were true - and took a deep breath, settling himself in the elevator. The lobby of the hotel was deserted aside from the woman sitting behind the front desk, and he suspected the pool would be just as empty. Or he hoped, at least. It would be nice to be able to relax and have fun without any kids around. He pushed open the glass door, looking around and finding nobody.

 

"Karl?"

 

Confused, he walked over to a table and set down his towel and the key card, pulling off his glasses and putting them down as well. Other than the soft noises from the pool's water, the tiled room was silent.

 

"Hello?"

 

He started walking along the side of the pool, heading for the bathrooms in the back. That was the only logical place for Karl to be, unless he wasn't around the pool at all. The room was empty other than several lounge chairs on one side of the pool and the two tables (and their chairs) on the other side, the bathrooms, and a stack of folded lounge chairs in the corner. Sutan walked slowly, careful not to slip on the slick tiled flooring, and as he rounded the corner of the pool, a loud yell startled him. Before he could react, someone was running out from behind the stacked chairs and crashing into him, sending them both flying into the water.

 

Spluttering and more than a little confused and shaken, Sutan's head broke the surface of the water and he coughed, spitting out a mouthful of water that he had inadvertently swallowed. Karl popped out of the water next to him, howling with laughter, and Sutan immediately grinned, splashing him.

 

"You dick!"

 

Karl's only response was a splash back, and before long, both of them were laughing and splashing each other like kids, flailing around in the pool. The fun only stopped when Sutan had to swim over to the edge and hold on for dear life while he caught his breath, pinching a stitch in his side. Karl followed him, pulling himself up out of the pool and sitting on the edge next to him.

 

"You know," Sutan said between breaths, "I really fucking hate you sometimes."

 

He couldn't keep a straight face long enough to even pretend he was being serious. All Karl did was giggle and blow him a kiss, and Sutan grabbed him by the ankle and yanked him back into the pool. Their splash-fight continued, moving towards the shallow part of the pool, both of them laughing until they couldn't breathe, then laughing more. Finally, gasping for breath, Sutan clung to the pool's edge, Karl next to him. His face hurt from grinning, and his stomach hurt from laughing, but all his earlier stress and worry was entirely forgotten. When he caught his breath, he turned to Karl, who was still grinning at him, his entire face lit up with happiness. Seeing his best friend like that, brown-and-blonde hair plastered to his head, sopping wet, and his entire face so bight and happy, made Sutan start grinning all over again.

 

"I'm _starving_."

 

Karl remarked very matter-of-factly, and the silver-haired man nodded in agreement. Their fight had left him tired and hungry, and dinner sounded exquisite.

 

"Room service and shitty hotel TV?"

 

"Sounds fine by me!"

 

Ever full of energy, Karl pulled himself out of the pool and climbed to his feet gracefully. Suddenly, it was hard for Sutan to pull his eyes away from his body - he _tried_ not to admire how good he looked with water running down his back in rivulets, or how easily he moved as he reached for his towel, and he _really tried_ not to think about running his fingers across the planes of his chest and abs when Karl toweled his hair dry. He shook himself, forcing his eyes away, and braced his hands on the side of the pool, climbing out much less smoothly than Karl had. Then, barely evading an attempted whip from Karl's towel, he grabbed his own and skidded away, escaping a second attempt from Karl to whip the backs of his legs.

 

"Oh my god, fuck off!"

 

Both of them were cackling again, slipping and sliding as they ran around the pool, Karl trying to whip whatever part of Sutan he could reach, and Sutan screeching obscenities as he tried to get away. Then, with a shouted curse and a massive splash that wet Sutan to the knee, Karl slipped and fell back into the pool, towel and all. Sutan sat down hard on the floor, wheezing with how hard he was laughing. For a moment, Karl stayed under, and just as Sutan started worrying, sitting up and looking into the water to see if he was alright, his head broke the surface.

 

"Now my towel's all wet!"

 

Karl climbed out of the water again, slinging his wet towel on the tiles with a disappointing _slap_ that made Sutan break into another fit of giggles. The two of them sat there for a moment, laughing all over again, sitting on the floor, one of them dripping wet and the other mostly dry.

 

"You're going to drip all the way back to the hotel room."

 

"Can I use yours?"

 

Sutan got to his feet and danced to the side, grinning.

 

"Only if you can catch me!"

 

As soon as he spoke, he was darting away again, and Karl was on his tail, both of them howling with laughter again. They circled around the pool one more time before Sutan made a split-second decision to veer over to their table and snatch both his glasses and the key card before bolting out of the pool room, pushing through the glass door. As his feet hit carpet, he sped up, flying past the lobby and down a hallway, flinging himself around a corner with Karl right behind. Ahead of them, a woman and a child were stepping into an elevator, and Sutan slowed only marginally as he approached, coming to a dead stop as soon as he made it inside. Karl crashed into him, and as the doors _ding_ ed shut, he grabbed the towel from Sutan. He glanced up, and Sutan watched his face shift as he noticed the other two passengers in the elevator, and he grinned sheepishly. Holding back a laugh, Sutan slid his glasses on, pushing his hair behind his ears with a friendly nod to the woman.

 

When the doors slid open two floors below theirs, the woman and her child stepped out, the woman pointedly looking away with a frown on her face. As soon as the doors had shut behind them, Karl burst into laughter, Sutan soon following. They were still gasping for breath between wheezing laughs as the doors opened on their floor, and when Karl grabbed his hand and started running, Sutan didn't even think twice about sprinting after him, watching numbers fly by on door after door until they came to a stumbling halt in front of their room. Out of breath and grinning, he slid the key card into the door and unlocked it, pushing it open. Karl immediately turned for the bathroom, slinging his still-soaked towel over the shower curtain to dry. He shut the door, and Sutan pulled off his glasses, discarding them on his dresser, and changed into boxers and a t-shirt. When Karl emerged, he was getting comfortable on his bed, TV remote in hand.

 

"So," Karl was significantly less breathless than he was before, "room service?"

 

Sutan nodded.

 

"Or we could order pizza. There's gotta be someone that delivers here, right?"

 

"I'm down for pizza!"

 

Karl was clad only in briefs, and Sutan busied himself turning on the TV and scrolling through the guide as the younger of the two climbed onto the bed next to him. As much as he tried to distract himself, Sutan was quickly noticing the truth behind at least some of Carmen's jests. He _was_ having a hard time pulling his eyes away from Karl as he picked up the hotel's phone and spoke to the front desk, ordering their pizza from room service. Right as Karl hung up the phone, Sutan settled on a show, and he left the volume low as Karl settled against him. When he rested his head against Sutan's shoulder, he could've sworn his heart skipped a beat. But, he ignored it, trying to act like he would've even a day ago, before he started realizing that he was looking at Karl unlike one looks at just a friend. He let out a long breath, pushed his thoughts to the side, and settled with his head against the top of Karl's, zoning out and waiting for their pizza to arrive.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Despite Sutan's protests that he was fine not drinking if they were staying in their room, Karl had bought several bottles of wine, arguing that they deserved it, since they were on vacation - and it would be more fun, anyways. Reluctantly, he had agreed, and now the two of theme were sitting on the floor between the two beds, pleasantly wine-drunk.

Being in a hotel room at eleven o'clock at night was almost a foreign concept to Sutan. Normally, he'd be out at a club or bar around this time, or home in his own bed. But, tonight, he and Karl had decided to stay in their room for the night, tired after a long day of exploring the city and visiting the nearby beach. Despite Sutan's protests that he was fine not drinking if they were staying in their room, Karl had bought several bottles of wine, arguing that they deserved it, since they were on vacation - and it would be more fun, anyways. Reluctantly, he had agreed, and now the two of theme were sitting on the floor between the two beds, pleasantly wine-drunk. There were cards spread on the floor in front of them, but the game was long-forgotten in favor of talking and laughing about nothing and everything.

 

Sutan was on his seventh or eighth glass of wine - he had lost count a few glasses ago, really - and his head was buzzing, his words slurring. Karl was just as giddy as he was, giggling at everything and leaning back against the bed, his face flushed. The cards weren't in any sort of order anymore; they had been scattered and mixed up a while ago, and neither of them had bothered fixing them. Smalltalk flew back and forth as easily as it always had, and the two of them kept drinking.

 

"You know," Karl started with a crooked smile, finishing his glass, "we only have three more days here."

 

" _Three_ days?"

 

Sutan questioned him, incredulous, finishing his glass as well and setting it aside, leaning back and looking at Karl in disbelief.

 

"I know, right? This week _flew_ by!"

 

His little giggle was bright and bubbly, and it made Sutan smile. Then, he realized what going home meant, and his expression darkened with something akin to worry. He worried his lower lip between his teeth, and after a moment, Karl tilted his head, leaning forward to rest a hand on Sutan's knee.

 

"You okay?"

 

The grey-haired man frowned and stood up slowly, a little unsteady on his feet. Karl stayed sitting down, looking up at Sutan, confused and concerned. Sutan stretched, then sat on the edge of his bed. He grabbed the almost-empty bottle of wine and emptied it into his glass, drinking it all in one go.

 

"These are the only days I get off for the next two months."

 

He set his glass down, standing again and stepping over the mess of their discarded game, turning to pace along the strip of floor at the ends of their beds.

 

"I have that week of gigs in Chicago, then I'm in... Florida? New York? Fuck, I don't remember."

 

Sutan was talking faster and faster, stumbling and tripping over his words but barreling ahead anyways.

 

"And then, um, I think England or something, maybe Glasgow, I don't know, then I'm all the way back in New York for a few days, I don't even know when I'm going home! And that's not even for the tour with the rest of the Drag Race girls, I have that too, which means a lot more cities almost every night, and I don't even sleep well on planes, and I don't even think I have enough drag to last that long, and-"

 

Karl stood up and caught him mid-pace, wrapping his arms around the older man with a very drunken hushing sound.

 

"Shhh... hey, you're gonna be okay."

 

Slightly miffed, Sutan looked at him, his cheeks suddenly burning. Karl took a half-step back, looking at Sutan.

 

"You got this, okay? You're fuckin' _Raja_ , you can do this shit. Don' even worry about it."

 

"I dunno, 'Nila..."

 

Karl grinned at the nickname, and by reflex, Sutan smiled back.

 

" 'nd anyways, you still have a few days off. Stop worrying so much!"

 

"I can' help it."

 

His response was mumbled, and Karl rolled his eyes, taking him by the shoulders and turning him, then guiding him to sit down on the bed. Sutan complied, his head a little cloudy, too wine-drunk to really care. He watched, bemused, as Karl made his way back between the beds, stepping over the mess of cards to grab the final, unopened bottle of wine, and their glasses, setting them on the bedside table as he opened the bottle and filled them. Then, full glasses in hand, he turned back to Sutan, stumbling slightly on his trip back to the older man. Wine sloshed over the brim of one of the glasses, trickling down his hand, and Karl laughed at himself, holding the other glass out to Sutan.

 

He accepted it and took a small sip, eyes locked on Karl as he made his slow, unsteady way to Sutan's other side, sticking his fingers in his mouth to clean the wine from them. Something about the gesture made Sutan's face flush, and he took another sip of wine, trying to ignore the heat rising in his gut.

 

" 'm gonna be so _busy_ ," Sutan whined, brow furrowed again, "and you're not even gonna be with me for most of it!"

 

Karl leaned into his side, taking a sip of his wine.

 

"I told you I'm going to as many of your gigs as I can, Raj!"

 

Sutan sighed heavily, tipping his head back and finishing his wine. He leaned backwards, stretching as far as he could to set the glass back down on the bedside table, then pushing himself back up. Karl leaned down and put his now-empty glass on the ground, and he turned sideways, flopping into Sutan's lap with a huge smile. Their eyes met, and Sutan smiled back, running his fingers through Karl's hair. The moment hung easily between them, and Karl closed his eyes with a content noise while Sutan continued playing with his blonde streak.

 

" 'm gonna miss you, 'Nila..."

 

Karl opened his eyes, looking up at Sutan warmly.

 

"Stop worrying, Raj, you're gonna be fine."

 

He sighed again, fingertips trailing down to trace Karl's cheekbone.

 

"I know."

 

There was a beat of silence before Karl was pushing himself up, hair sticking up every which way.

 

"Want more wine?"

 

The way he said it made him sound about ten times as drunk as he sounded thirty second ago, and it make Sutan grin.

 

" 'm good for now. Thanks, though."

 

Karl noticed his grin, eyes lingering for half a second too long on his lips, and Sutan felt his face flush again. Then, Karl sat up all the way and pushed himself to stand, wobbling a little bit. He crossed the room to turn the lights off, and, plunged into sudden darkness, Sutan nearly squawked as he attempted to walk around the bed and slipped on the cards he had forgotten were there. Right as Sutan caught his balance, Karl stumbled into them, and the two of them fell over, Sutan hitting the bed and sliding down to the floor with Karl nearly on top of him. They laid there, on cards that Sutan knew they must be bending at least a few of, breathless with drunken giggles.

 

"That didn' really work."

 

Karl's voice, though slurred, was soft and breathless between laughs, and something about it made Sutan want to pull the other man closer. So, he did, his inhibitions drowned in wine. His arms looped around Karl's body, tugging their bodies together, chest-to-chest. The way they landed had them nose-to-nose, and in the dim light provided by the bathroom light across the room, Sutan saw Karl's eyes widen. For a moment, the tension between them was palpable, then Karl put a hand on Sutan's chest to prop himself up enough to really look at the silver-haired man. In the near-darkness, it was hard to make out his facial expression, but Sutan could see well enough to notice the way his teeth dug into his lower lip as he hesitated. In his alcohol-addled brain, he wasn't exactly thinking so much as _feeling_ and _doing_ without real logic behind any of it.

 

" 'Nila," he whispered, reaching up to brush his hair away from his face, the blonde starkly contrasting the near-black, even in the low light.

 

"Raj," came the breathless response, half a second before Karl was leaning down, and then their lips met.

 

It wasn't the first time they'd kissed, but for some reason, it was different this time. For one, Sutan wasn't messily drunk from shots of vodka and high both from smoking and the adrenaline of performing, and for another, the room was full of silence instead of the throbbing beat of music. Instead, they filled the space with little breaths and noises, their kiss messy. It was slow, Karl's hands sliding down Sutan's sides and Sutan's hands on the other's waist, pulling him closer. When Karl broke the kiss, Sutan couldn't help his soft protest. He wanted _more_ but was afraid to say it, too buzzed and cotton-headed to really think of how to. He was afraid of crossing some boundary with their friendship, and the alcohol only served to make the place where that boundary might be even more confusing.

 

"You need'a stop thinking," Karl breathed, still only inches away from Sutan's face, "just... relax."

 

"Easier said than done."

 

Sutan's response was equally as breathy, and he saw the smile spread on Karl's face a moment before he was standing up. A hand was offered to the older man to help him up, and he accepted, finding himself suddenly missing the heat of his best friend's body. It didn't even occur to him that this was more than just friendly affection; he just accepted what was going through his head - currently being how much he wanted to kiss the younger man again - at face value. Maybe it was the wine talking, or perhaps just removing the walls Sutan had build in his head, but all he knew was that he very suddenly craved Karl's body against his and their lips together again.

 

"Raj," Karl mumbled, his hands finding Sutan's hips and clumsily pulling them together again, "stop thinking for a few minutes, 'kay? Just enjoy things."

 

Sutan wrapped his arms around him, and they stood still for a moment before Karl was moving Sutan backwards. The bed hit the backs of his knees, and he sat down hard, Karl following. With his weight firmly in Sutan's lap, it was only a reflex for the older man's hands to find their way to his ass, pulling him more securely against his body as their lips met again. Now, there was a heat behind the kiss that wasn't there earlier. Karl's arms looped around his neck, and Sutan found himself feeling up the other, their bodies pressed together. When the kiss broke, his disappointed noise made Karl giggle breathlessly again, and he pressed a sloppy, drunk kiss to the tip of Sutan's nose.

 

"Relax."

 

It was more of a demand this time, and despite the clumsy thoughts stumbling through his brain, making about as much sense as a snowstorm in downtown LA during the summer, his shoulders loosened. Before he could capture the other man's lips again, he was moving, sliding backwards to the floor, and Sutan's breath caught in his throat. His head was muddled, and he couldn't do anything but run his fingers through Karl's blonde streak as fingers hooked into the waistband of his sweatpants. Sutan lifted his hips, and Karl pulled them down, leaving them tangled around his ankles. With nothing on underneath, the cool air suddenly hit his skin and made him shiver. Karl's breath was hot and starkly different, and the only thing running through Sutan's head was a steady loop of _holy fuck holy fuck holy fuck_.

 

"Stop thinkin', Raj..."

 

It was painfully obvious that Karl was the drunker of the two, but Sutan didn't care. He laced his fingers into Karl's blonde-and-brown hair as his mouth closed around Sutan, and he couldn't stop the soft gasp of the other's name. It was messy and by far not the best blowjob he'd ever gotten, but Sutan would be a filthy liar if he said Karl's mouth didn't feel like heaven. It was hot and wet and tight, and his tongue working against his most sensitive spots as the younger man bobbed his head drew all sorts of noises from him. Every single coherent thought left him, and before long, Sutan was moaning softly into the empty room, the only noises being his own and the wet sounds Karl's perfect mouth made around him. He was trying not to move his hips too much, but it was hard to control it when everything felt so _fucking_ good.

 

"Fuck, _Manila_..."

 

Sutan was close; his body felt like it was full of electricity, and the wet heat of Karl's mouth was overwhelmingly _amazing_. His fingers were tight in Karl's hair and he was rocking his hips up unabashedly, his head tilted back, mouth open.

 

"I'm close, fuck," he gasped, words twisting off into a soft noise, "god, fuck, _Karl_ -"

 

With a broken moan, he came, tugging on Karl's hair. He moaned around Sutan, working him through it and swallowing it all, only pulling off when the other man protested softly, spent. For a moment, the post-orgasm haze hung heavy in his body, and Sutan could only look down at Karl with wide eyes and a flushed face. After a few seconds, other man stood up, wiping the back of his mouth with his hand, and the motion prompted Sutan to snap out of it a little bit and stand up as well, pulling his pants back up.

 

"Feel better?"

 

Karl's voice was nonchalant, if still slurred, and Sutan blinked for a moment before nodding, a smile spreading across his face.

 

"Yeah."

 

Beaming, Karl nodded, then motioned to the bed behind Sutan.

 

"Bed?"

 

With another nod, Sutan turned and slipped underneath the covers, his eyelids already starting to feel heavy. Karl followed, and as if they'd done it a thousand times, their bodies fit together like puzzle pieces, legs tangling together underneath the blankets.

 

"G'night, Raj."

 

Karl mumbled softly, cuddling into Sutan's chest. He ran his fingers through the other's blonde streak once more before closing his eyes with a smile, a warm fuzziness rising in his chest that he knew wasn't from the wine. Whatever this was, and whatever had just happened, was both a discussion and a worry for another time. For now, Karl was in his arms, there wasn't a hint of tension anywhere in his body, and Sutan wouldn't change anything at all.

 

"G'night, 'Nila."


End file.
